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Choose free software and save money

Elena Santos

Elena Santos

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Save money!People tend to believe that proprietary software is better simply because you pay for it. A paid license is somehow taken as a quality certificate that makes sure this application has been created by a professional team of developers, designers and testers. But you know that’s not always true.

While proprietary software is usually a high quality product, sometimes you can find free alternatives that perform exactly the same tasks, without having to pay anything for them. These free apps prove that a software license is not a synonym of the best product available. There are still people who work on free and open source software just because they like it and they obtain a much more enriching reward.

Want examples? Take a look at this list of freeware and GPL applications that can replace some popular proprietary tools. They’re just a small sample of the many excellent free software apps you can find. Now the choice is yours!

  • OpenOffice – This is by far the most important free alternative to Microsoft Office suite. However, remember that you can also use any of the online office suites available today: Google Docs, Zoho or Ajax13.
  • GIMP – Another popular free application that you can use instead of Photoshop. If you’re too used to Adobe’s big shot you can use Gimpshop to make the transition a bit easier for you.
  • VLC Media Player – You may have other favorite video players (like the almighty BSPlayer Pro), but nothing is going to beat the price you pay for VLC’s excellent features. And it’s not the only free alternative available!
  • FileZilla – Forget about CuteFTP and switch to this excellent open source FTP client that offers a perfect solution for all your file transfers.
  • XnView – You don’t need to pay for ACDsee anymore. XnView is a complete photo viewer with support for dozens of formats that will enable you to enjoy your pictures just the same, and all for free.
Elena Santos

Elena Santos

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